Latest Blog Posts

Think for a moment about a time when you felt at peace during a performance. Do you remember the piece? Were you in the audience or were you a part of the performance? Could you begin to feel a weightless energy in the room as you listened? Perhaps you can’t articulate exactly what caused this welling up of […]

I’ve taught choral music to public school middle school children since 1989.    In the early years, I couldn’t figure out how to teach my young beginners how to take the notes and symbols off of the page and sing with accurate pitch and rhythm. One day at a time… One failure at a time… Deliberately… I […]

“The jealous are troublesome to others, but a torment to themselves.” William Penn In preparation for writing the blog post today, I looked up the definitions of envy and jealousy. I wanted to know what the differences are so I was absolutely clear in my own mind. Simply put, envy is coveting something someone else […]

Tired of the heat? Get your sleigh bells, scarf and cool off with my annual Christmas in July special. You will hear a short cantata by JS Bach, plus new music for the season and of course a chestnut or two. Come on in!

In just under a month, ACDA is proud to be part of hosting America Cantat 8 in Nassau, Bahamas, the first time this exciting festival is being held in a primarily English-speaking country. The current issue of Choral Journal is a focus on the music, people, and places of this international festival. Even if you […]

If you are about to face a group of middle school or high school chorus students in the upcoming school year who have been taught by a teacher they absolutely adored, you may be feeling like you’ve just been hired to replace Robert Shaw…iconic 20th Century Choral Conductor! It is so scary. Can you imagine […]

“You hear things about certain people. When you hear someone was mean to a limo driver or a wardrobe lady, or someone was rotten to a fan, somewhere in your brain it gets stuck.” Joan Rivers I hate gossip. Hate it with a passion and will even avoid speaking with someone (if I can) if […]

Host Stan Schmidt takes you on an excursion with the singers, Minnesota choral artists by Matthew Culluoton, one of the finest choirs in the country. They will explain some of the marvelous music of America including some early hymnody plus original selections from two master composers Morten Laurdisen and René Clausen.

When circus elephants are very young, they are tethered to a pole in the ground for training purposes. One of the elephant’s back legs has a collar around it, attached to a chain, which leads to a pole that is anchored in the ground. The young elephant walks a little ways, but then comes to […]

Continuing from last week’s post on the Choral Journal article “The Rediscovery of Antonio Vivaldi,” I want to focus on another article that will be of special interest to scholars of choral history: “Fleeing War, Composing Peace: The Evolution of Jean Berger” by Zebulon Highben, which was published in the August 2015 issue. Jean Berger […]